Board of Directors

Current Board of Directors

Keri Rak has been part of Calgary’s dragon boat community since 2002 as a paddler, manager and head coach for the Red Eyes Paddling Club. A born & raised Calgarian, she is proud of the sportsmanship and camaraderie shown throughout the dragon boat community in this city, and enjoys learning new things about coaching every season. She is also a member of the Calgary Canoe Club and volunteers her time as a programmer at CJSW radio. Keri currently works for the City of Calgary.

Danny Ng is a founding member of the Calgary Dragon Boat Society and a dedicated volunteer for Dragon Boat festivals. He brings extensive experience in organizing groups and actively participates in various associations within the Chinese Community. In his professional life, Mr. Ng excels in international business development. With his passion for community engagement and proven leadership skills, he continues to make a positive impact in the Calgary and Chinatown community.

Shane Martin is a founding member of the Calgary Dragon Boat Society and is past Co-Chair. He has been an active paddler for many years having paddled at numerous World Club Crew Championships and as a member of Canada’s National team program. Locally he coaches and paddles for the Calgary crew Dragnum. When he is not paddling Shane works as a lawyer in civil litigation.

Glenn Petruic has been actively involved in the Calgary dragon boat community since 2001. He coaches a number of teams and regularly volunteers his time to support dragon boating in Calgary. I addition to dragon boat he has extensive volunteer experience with many non-profit groups. Glenn works at Nexen, where he is employed as an I/T Security Compliance Analyst.

Grace Ma has been living in Calgary since 1978.  She owned and operated a restaurant and bar for 17 yrs and owned and operated an auction company for 8 yrs.  Grace is presently semi-retired but is very active as a volunteer in Calgary’s Chinatown.  She has volunteered for the Calgary Dragon Boat Festival for the last 3 years.

Layton Sergeant has been involved with the Calgary Dragon boat community for over ten years. In these years Layton has paddled with Waverunners, CRC, and Dragnum. For the last three years Layton has taken on coaching multiple teams including Waverunners, Wooden Eye, CP Rail dragons, Wake My Day, Spartans, and other corporate and volunteer teams. Layton has seen the sport grow from a fun activity to a community of paddlers and friends, then further into a very competitive sport. Layton is very proud to be a part of the CDBS board, and also a bigger part of the Calgary Dragon Boat community.

John Dong -President, Sien Lok Society October (2018-present); Director, Sien Lok Society (2017-2018); Director, Hong Kong Canada Business Association (2005-present); Director, Chinatown BIA (2017-2019); Director, Asian Heritage Foundation (2000-2018); Director, Calgary Dragon Boat Society (2018-present). Profession: Professional Accountant, B.Comm, CMA, CPA Businesses: President, Royal Liquor Merchants, President, SkyReach Condos Kelowna, President, Millrise Estates Ltd., Partner and Executive Director, Bow Valley Club

Karen Luk – Bio coming soon.

Chris Lu – Bio coming soon.

Bill Bateman – Bio coming soon.


Past Board Of Directors

Joyce Tai – N/A.

Richard Pootmans is the former Councillor for Ward 6 (2010-2017).  He has been living in Calgary since 1979 and been active in business and public sectors.  He loves dragon boat racing and the cultural emphasis of the Society and is proud to be part of this talented, hardworking board. 

Xing Jiang – N/A.

Derek Zhao brings in-depth experience in financial analysis, event planning and fund development. At work he is a Commercial Banking Associate with a regional financial institution. Prior to this, he was with a Canadian chartered bank and the Calgary Economic Development where he worked on the financial services sector and China initiative. Derek is also a past board member of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association. 

Malcolm Jubinville has been involved in the sport of dragon boat since 2009 and is a member of the Calgary Canoe Club. He paddles competitively across Western Canada and voluntarily manages his corporate dragon boat team. Having worked in several technology based sectors in Calgary over the past 15 years, he brings this knowledge and skill set to enhance the festival experience for everyone involved. Malcolm currently works in the IT Service Management industry as a private cloud transition manager.

Len Webber A past Alberta MLA, and current MP for Calgary Confederation was first exposed to the sport of Dragon boating 10 years ago through his late wife Heather, who was the President of the Calgary based Sistership Dragon Boat Association.   He spent countless days supporting Heather at numerous Dragon Boat festivals throughout Canada, and continues to cheer the Sistership team on at the Calgary Dragon Boat festival every summer.  Len has been a strong supporter and an advocate to government for the Calgary Dragon Boat Society.

Katherine Hu is a native of China who grew up with the Dragon Boat culture.  She has been passionate about this sport as well as serving and giving back to the communities.  She has volunteered at different organizations in Calgary and is thrilled with this new opportunity on this Board.  Katherine is a certified accountant of Australia with 10+ years of professional experience with EY and Deloitte.  Katherine is now a financial analyst at an international energy company.

Joe Connelly is the former Alderman of Ward 6 (2007 -2010) and is recognized as a results-oriented community leader, passionate and proud about his city and his province. Joe attended the University of Calgary where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce, and has over 25 years of senior business experience in the not-for-profit, blue-chip corporate and entrepreneurial business sectors.

Mike Fitzpatrick is an avid paddler with one of Calgary’s Dragon Boat teams, has volunteered with the United Way in the past, and is currently a member of Calgary’s Search and Rescue Team.  Mike is currently working as a Principal with Osborne Interim Management and acts as a steersperson and coach for corporate teams.

Kelvin Koay is very active in the Calgary dragon boating scene, he has participated in Calgary Dragon Boat Festival since 1998, during which time he volunteered in helping organize dragon boat practices. Currently, the head coach for Calgary Dragon Boat Club. Kelvin has also served on its executive committee. Kelvin has worked for more than 10 years in business development in Calgary.

Ed Tam is long time community volunteer in Calgary where he has served as a board member and advisor. He has contributed to fundraising to an initiative to purchase healthcare equipment for a senior citizen care center and is currently a member of the Calgary Chinatown Centennial Celebration Committee. He is employed as a senior engineer with an oil & gas producing company.

Donn Lovett has been very active in his community since 1983; with the Cliff Bungalow Mission Community Association.  He served in various positions including President.  Donn has managed several political campaigns in Calgary; winning 6 MLA campaigns.  He was appointed by the Mayor to the Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee at the City of Calgary.  He volunteered as the Dragon Boat announcer for the 2011 event.  Donn is the President of his own company in media and public relations.

Sandy Swanton has strong experience in events management and communications drawn from experience in Canada and Australia, including the Sydney Olympics. She has most recently been a senior advisor with the Australian government, extensively involved in facilitating multi-stakeholder initiatives. Sandy first became involved in Dragon Boating in Victoria where she represented the VBIA as a key sponsor of the event. Sandy currently works in public relations.

Shael Gelfand has been an active volunteer on the Boards on a number community organizations, including the Unicef Alberta Leadership Council. He has participated extensively as a volunteer with a number of dragon boat festivals including being an announcer and a part of race and results committees. Shael currently works in public and media relations.


Steering Committee & Advisors

Alexandria (Alex) Sham is the President of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association. She recognizes that many of her association members participate in the dragon boat community around the world and brings forward a voice of the cultural component. She works with RBC Insurance as an Advisor and is active in many community organizations.

Danny Ng is Business Development Manager with the Canada Export Centre and Publisher at ChinatownCalgary.com. Long involved in the Calgary community, Danny has been an active volunteer on previous Dragon Boat festivals and brings extensive experience organizing groups. He also volunteers and participates on various associations in the Chinese Community.

Lynda Roberts is the Manager of the Calgary Canoe Club. She is highly knowledgeable of event-day planning and operations for dragon boats, has years of paddling experience and has practical knowledge of utilizing the Glenmore Reservoir for recreation and sport purposes. She has participated as a paddler in dragon boating herself.

Stuart Walker is the General Manager of HR and Corporate Services with UTS Energy. He brings his experience as a corporate sponsor of dragon boats as well as a background in corporate governance.

Kevin Forster sits as a non-voting member with the committee representing The City of Calgary. Kevin has had a long time professional involvement in supporting appropriate water sports and recreational activities on the reservoir. Kevin is presently The City of Calgary Liaison for the Glenmore Canoe and Rowing Clubhouse Foundation and the Dragon Boats on the Glenmore Reservoir.

The work of the Steering Committee is supported by Frank Johnston, who is with CentrePoint Non-Profit Management.